Brunel Alumni Link Magazine (2011)

link BRUNEL Magazine 2011

The Brunel University Alumni Association

www.brunel.ac.uk

www.brunelalumni.co.uk Brunel Link 2011 | 1

Contents

Keep in touch

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Message from the Vice-Chancellor

Brunel’s Development and Alumni Office are delighted to keep in touch with members of the Brunel graduate community across the world.

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News

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Brunel and London 2012

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Sport news

Please visit and register on our website: www.brunelalumni.co.uk

10 Research update 14 Entrepreneurship 16 Building Brunel 18 Graduation 19 Graduate news 24 Fundraising 26 Noticeboard 28 Congratulations 31 Obituaries 32 Alumnus of the Year

Alumni Communications Brunel Link magazine is available online: http://issuu.com/brunel/docs/brunellink_2011 Should you wish to receive future editions of Brunel Link online and also to receive our termly e-newsletter please let us know either by completing the Alumni Profile Questionnaire or by emailing alumni@brunel.ac.uk

Acknowledgements

We have the following groups on LinkedIn:

Editor Niki Khoroushi, Publications Officer

The Official Brunel University Alumni Group

Designer Richard Mitchell, Brunel University Press

The Official Brunel University MSc Management Group

Photography Sally Trussler, Neil Graveney

The Official Brunel University MBA Alumni Group

Why not like our page on Facebook: Brunel University Alumni If you are unable to register on our Alumni website, then please contact Hilary Whale, Alumni Database and Website Manager, at hilary.whale@brunel.ac.uk Development and Alumni Office, Brunel University Uxbridge, UB8 3PH Email alumni@brunel.ac.uk Tel +44 (0)1895 267775

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Message from the Vice-Chancellor

Welcome to the 2011 issue of Link magazine The last 12 months have been some of the most packed and most fluid that I have experienced in Higher Education, featuring a general election, the Browne Review of Funding for Higher Education, a Comprehensive Spending Review, student protests and a national austerity programme that is impacting on all areas of our lives.

With more change just around the corner, it gives me great heart to reflect on the strength of the Brunel alumni family and the esteem in which our institution is held.

Although we find ourselves in challenging times, I believe that Brunel’s core values and commitment to excellence in teaching, research and engaging with the outside world will ensure that we continue to offer strong and sustainable higher education.

I also believe that the situation for universities remains fluid and dynamic, so it is difficult to predict what the future holds.

Against this background, then, I would like to share some good news, and some reasons why Brunel is able to face the future with confidence.

Firstly, Brunel is seeing an influx of new academic staff who are at the top of their fields, and who will build on areas of strength across the institution. They include a new head for Brunel’s world-class Design subject area, new Directors in the Institute for Bioengineering and the Health Economics Research Group, and many more across all disciplines.

Secondly, the University continues to excel in its research.

The Liquid Metal Engineering Centre for Innovative Manufacturing mentioned in the last issue has now opened and has begun to produce results.

Professor David Bunce’s research into early detection of cognitive decline and dementia attracted worldwide interest earlier in the year, as did the mechanical engineering work of Dr Mark Atherton, whose study on dampening the noise of dentist’s drills will help patients overcome their fear of such devices (see page 10).

I would also like to congratulate Professor Martin Buxton on his prestigious International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Lifetime Achievement Award. This is a great honour that is only bestowed on the absolute best in their field.

Brunel secured nominations in the Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards for work in ICT, research management, library management and entrepreneurialism. On top of this, the Placement and Careers Centre secured two awards for excellence from the highly regarded RateMyPlacement website, whilst the Union of Brunel Students was recognised for its sound environmental impact, received a Legal Services Quality Mark and took home the Best-Bar-None Award for a certain popular entertainment venue on campus.

You can see, in looking at this exciting snapshot, why I feel positive about what the future holds for Brunel and why you, the Brunel alumni family, can feel proud of your University’s progress in the past year.

Meeting you is always one of the most enjoyable parts of being Vice-Chancellor, and I look forward to continuing to do so both on and off campus.

This is a good moment to congratulate the 2011 Brunel Alumnus of the Year: Mr Nathaniel Peat. Nathaniel is fast becoming one of the best known entrepreneurial talents in the UK following his appearance on the BBC’s The Last Millionaire, and he recently represented the UK as one of three young entrepreneurs at the G20 Summit in Toronto. He is a hugely inspirational speaker and I look forward to presenting him to the graduating class of students this summer. As always, if you would like to nominate a Brunel graduate for this prestigious award, please contact the Alumni Office using the details on the back cover.

Talking of the Alumni Office, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the work of the enormously talented and indefatigable Head of Alumni Relations, Sue Curley.

Sue has been the face of the Brunel Alumni Office since it was first established and will be known to you all through her care and dedication in all aspects of alumni relations, no matter how large or small. However, Sue has decided that the time is right to bring this segment of her career to a close and is taking a well-deserved, although I dare say still incredibly active, retirement following this issue of Link magazine.

There is not space here to adequately express all that the University owes to Sue or to thank her as fully as she deserves for the support she has given to both the institution and to me personally. She has truly been an inspiration to work with and I am sure you will join me in wishing her well for the future.

Professor Chris Jenks Vice-Chancellor and Principal

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news

Justin Fisher (left) at his inaugural lecture (and above) the worldwide launch of the celebrations for the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta in 2015, held at Runnymede in November.

Brunel wins ‘Forward Thinking’ accolade The Placement and Careers Centre (PCC) picked up the award for ‘University with a Forward Thinking Attitude to Work-Based Learning’ for its exceptional support for students seeking work placements, part-time work and careers advice, at the 2011 National Placement and Internship Awards. Nomination for the award came from students and employers as well as universities, and were judged by a panel on case studies submitted.

The many faces of Professor Justin Fisher In November, Brunel’s Professor of Political Science, Justin Fisher, delivered his inaugural lecture ‘Seven Myths about Political Parties’, exploring a series of common claims about political parties and their approaches to campaigning, finance, regulation and ideological positioning in relation to the electorate.

Professor Fisher, the Director of the Magna Carta Institute, has also brought his expertise on political parties to bear in highprofile roles outside Brunel. Along with two other academic experts, he was appointed by the Committee on Standards in Public Life as an advisor to its enquiry into party political funding. He said: “I am delighted to be invited to be an advisor for this review.

The appointment really demonstrates how academic work can have a considerable impact on public policy.”

During the 2010 General Election Professor Fisher led the off-screen results analysis for the ITN/ITV Election night show and made post-Election appearances for GMTV and BBC London. He will also once again lead on the academic analysis of constituency campaigning carried out at each general election for the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

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Michelle Kavan, Deputy Director (Placement) said: “Within the PCC we continually strive to change, improve and innovate and I think that the award highlights this. We are also proud that our Placement Assistant, Mo Rahman, won a special commendation in the ‘University Personality of the Year’ category for showing outstanding support to students and employers.”

Announcing the award, co-founder of Rate My Placement Oliver Sidwell said: “Brunel University’s contemporary approach to work-based learning was described by the judges as ‘amazing’. They go miles beyond the call of duty and offer an integrated service providing a one-stop shop for all students. Their extensive use of social media also demonstrates a real understanding of the student audience.”

Accredited), which the NCTJ have ranked as the UK’s third best performing postgraduate newspaper journalism course.

Music Awards turn 25

Brunel is Crème de la Crème Brunel has won the Crème de la Crème Business Award for Outstanding Achievement. This prestigious award is only open to organisations that have already won an award during the year.

In 2010, Brunel won a Global Business Excellence Award for Outstanding Research and Development Collaborations, was shortlisted in the Times Higher Education Awards for the Outstanding Research Management Team and celebrated major national success as the winner of the ‘RateMyPlacement’ organisation’s Best University Award for delivering outstanding student placements into business and industry.

Brunel Design ‘best in UK’ Brunel University was ranked number one for Design in the UK in the recent 2011 Sunday Times University Guide. One of the largest and most successful departments in the UK, Brunel Design also achieved an impressive score of 85% for overall student satisfaction in the 2010 National Student Survey. Design made the top 10 of every other University Guide ranking this year, reaching third place in The Guardian, fifth place in The Independent and sixth in The Times.

Brunel Journalism making headlines The BA Journalism degree at Brunel has received the NCTJ’s industry hallmark.

Launched three years ago, the course is one of only 18 accredited programmes in the UK and the only accredited honours programme in Greater London.

Sarah Niblock, Head of Journalism and herself NCTJ trained, said: “We are delighted as we want to provide the best possible launch-pad for our students’ careers in this competitive climate.

But at the same time they are taking a demanding academic programme, equipping them with the critical and contextual knowledge they really need to navigate in a fast-moving media world.”

NCTJ Chief Executive Joanne Butcher said: “It’s great to see the journalism provision at Brunel going from strength to strength.

We know how challenging it is for undergraduate journalism degree courses to meet the NCTJ standard for accreditation, but the team at Brunel were more than able to demonstrate the commitment, resources and quality we require.”

Brunel also offers two postgraduate journalism programmes, MA International Journalism and MA Journalism (NCTJ

Brunel’s Music Awards celebrated their 25th anniversary on 18 May 2010 with a concert, dinner and cabaret.

In 1985, The Vice-Chancellor Professor R E D Bishop enabled the Arts Centre to introduce Music Bursaries as an additional incentive to the most talented applicants, in recognition of the correlation between attainment in extra-curricular music and academic ability in under-18s.

Simon Burgess, Chairman of the Judges for Créme de la Créme, said: “Brunel University has done more than most to forge relationships between academia and UK industry. Brunel is a shining example of how public/private sector partnerships can add value for all concerned.”

New Biosciences laboratories

Following the introduction of tuition fees, these were re-named the University Music Awards and in recent years they have been supported by generous donations to the Brunel Development Fund by alumni and friends of the University. Currently 10 students each year receive support in this way.

Brunel wins ‘Best Higher Education Provider’ Award The Best Business Awards are among the UK’s highest profile accolades, attracting a wide range of entries from across all sectors, including large international companies, public sector organisations and innovative small and medium enterprises.

Andrew Areoff, Chairman of the Judges, said: “Among advances are improved IT infrastructure, industrial collaborations, a new emphasis on staff well-being and sports facilities that have attracted Usain Bolt and the Jamaican track team for training.”

Professor Steve Dixon, Brunel’s Pro-ViceChancellor (Strategy and Development), said: “We are delighted to receive this award which confirms Brunel’s position at the forefront of UK Higher Education.

This is the third award the University has received this year and is a tribute to the commitment and dedication of all our staff. It also reflects Brunel’s strategic strength, confidence and forward-looking ethos at a time of great change for Higher Education.”

Professor Sir David Weatherall and Lorraine de Souza, Head of the School of Health Sciences and Social Care Professor Sir David Weatherall, renowned British physician and researcher, officially opened the new Biosciences laboratories in the Heinz Wolff Building last May. The new facilities include wet science laboratories, teaching space, offices and a Category 3 containment facility designed for cutting-edge research on Mycobacterium Tuberculosis (the cause of tuberculosis), malaria and HIV. The facilities will be at the heart of research activities in the newly-created Centre for Infection, Immunity and Disease Mechanisms within the School of Health Sciences and Social Care.

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Brunel and the 2012 london Olympics South Korea We are delighted to announce that 11 squads from the South Korean Olympic Team will be training at Brunel prior to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The official announcement was made at an event in London on 6 April 2011.

Representatives of the Korean Olympic Committee first visited Brunel in April 2010, taking a tour of the Indoor Athletics Centre for the weightlifting area, the Netball Hall for badminton, and the Sports Hall for taekwondo.

“This marks the end of more than two years of work by the University to attract a successful team from an important nation to use the world class sports facilities on campus.”

12 to follow in 2012 The University will be following the progress of 12 Olympic hopefuls throughout the games.

1. Tom Aggar

Adaptive Rowing – MSc Sport Sciences (current)

Neil Young, Head of Brunel 2012 Programmes South Korea sent a team of 267 athletes to the Beijing 2008 Games, aiming for 10 gold medals and to be ranked in the top 10 in the Games. However, they exceeded expectations and were eventually ranked seventh, with 13 gold medals, putting them above Japan, Italy and France. This was the highest number the country has earned in its Olympic history.

Taekwondo is the national sport of South Korea and one of their Olympic team’s strongest disciplines.

Four of their 13 gold medals in 2008 were in taekwondo. Lim Su-Jeong (pictured below), one of the gold medallists from the women’s team, won her first gold medal when she was just 16 at the 2002 Asian Games. She qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics in first place in the -57kg category at the World Qualification Tournament in Manchester, before going on to win the gold.

2. Eniola Aluko

Football – Law 2008

3. Anita Asante

Football – Politics and English 2006

4. Jonathan Boyton

Canoeing – Sport Sciences (current)

5. Joey Duck

Athletics – Sport Sciences 2010

6. Heather Fell

Modern Pentathlon – Physiotherapy 2004

7. Nick Leavey

Athletics – Sport Sciences UG 2007 and MSc 2009

8. Rion Pierre

Athletics – Sport Sciences (current)

9. Beth Rodford

Adaptive Rowing – Sport Sciences 2005

10. Perri Shakes-Dayton

Athletics – Sport Sciences (current)

11. Kelly Sotherton

Athletics – Honorary Graduate 2009

12. Laura Turner

Athletics – Sport Sciences UG 2003 and MSc 2006

Visit: www.brunel.ac.uk/2012 for more information.

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Student success Perri wins three medals Second year student Perri Shakes-Drayton took another huge step towards Olympic glory when she won two bronze medals at the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona in July, breaking her personal best in the 400m hurdles as well as in the GB 4x400m relay.

She also helped Team GB to finish second in the European Team Championships in Norway in June 2010, by securing a bronze medal in the 4x400m relay.

Perri said: “I’m going to continue what I’ve been doing and put in the hard work over the winter. I aim to make the final of the World Championships [in Daegu, South Korea] next year, but I’m not planning for London 2012 just yet – let’s get 2011 out of the way first!”

Tom Aggar picks up more awards Current Sport Sciences student, Sports Scholar and unbeaten Paralympic champion Tom Aggar won gold at the World Rowing Championships in New Zealand in November 2010. Tom dominated the Paralympic-class single scull final to win by a sizeable margin of 13 seconds.

The medal is Tom’s fourth international title in a row. He said: “It feels fantastic. All the hard work has paid off. The conditions were tricky out there but it was great for me to come here and get the gold medal I wanted, and great for the team.”

Tom was also named the 2010 World Rowing Adaptive Crew of the Year at the World Rowing Awards in January.

Chris Blunt awarded ECB scholarship MSc Sport Sciences student Christ Blunt has been awarded a £2,000 scholarship from the England and Wales Cricket Board to conduct his dissertation on ‘A review of the effectiveness of performance analysis in cricket’. Chris will be supervised by Brunel’s Dr Robin Jackson (Brunel University) and Michael Bourne (National Lead for Performance Analysis).

His work will review the Performance Analysis service of the National Cricket Performance Centre at Loughborough University.

As part of the Scholarship, Chris will also have the opportunity to gain supervised applied experience within the ECB’s Performance Analysis Department. His proposal focused on assessing performance analysis provision from the service provider and end-user’s perspective, and on looking at the potential for innovation with respect to research, talent development and elite squads.

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Sport news Brunel physiologist to aid astronauts Dr James Pearson, a recent graduate from Brunel’s Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance (CSMHP), has been awarded a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Institute for Exercise and Environmental Medicine, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, supervised by worldleading exercise physiologist Professor Craig Crandall.

Dr Pearson’s thesis was on the influence of body temperature and dehydration on blood flow in resting and exercising humans. He will now study the blood flow responses of astronauts before, during and after space flight. It is hoped that

his research will aid the preparation and recuperation of astronauts involved in extraterrestrial missions.

Dr Pearson commented: “Studying at Brunel has certainly broadened my horizons and I have learnt a great deal from my interactions with Professor GonzálezAlonso”.

Brunel trio win Commonwealth gold Graduates Montell Douglas (Sport Sciences 2008), Laura Turner (Sport Sciences 2006) and Abi Oyepitan (Politics and Sociology 2001), along with fellow sprinter Katherine Endacott, won the women’s 4x100m relay with a finish time of 44.19s, over one second ahead of silver medallists Ghana, at the Delhi Commonwealth Games in October.

“This has been an amazing championships,” said Oypeitan, who also won a silver medal

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in the 200m. “I really wanted to come out and win this one so I’m so happy for all of the girls. These Games have been incredible and going home with two medals is amazing.”

The trio were not the only Brunel graduates to win medals in the relays. Sport Sciences graduate Nick Leavey ran the second leg of the men’s 4x400m to claim a bronze medal, finishing behind Australia and Kenya.

Graduate Kate Walsh captained the England hockey team, who narrowly lost out to Australia in the semi-final but beat South Africa 1-0 to win the bronze medal. The result means that England have never missed out on a podium place at the Games since hockey’s inaugural year in 1998.

Commonwealth winning team: from l-r: Abi Oyepitan, Katherine Endacott, Montell Douglas, Laura Turner

Sport Sciences staff awarded four BASES Fellowships

Graduates win medals at World Rowing Championships

Professor Celia Brackenridge, Professor Alison McConnell, Dr Richard Godfrey and Dr Costas Karageorghis from the School of Sport and Education each received a British Association of Sport and Exercise Sciences (BASES) Fellowship in 2010 for their services to Sport Sciences in the UK.

Beth Rodford (Sport Sciences 2005) picked up a gold medal in the British women’s quadruple scull at the World Rowing Championships in New Zealand in November 2010. GB Rowing Performance Director, David Turner, described the win as “fabulous”, adding “What a huge step up for the women’s quad who were so clever in their race, exhibiting their skill and discipline.”

The Fellowships were awarded at BASES’ annual conference dinner, held at Glasgow University.

They recognise professional achievement, skills, knowledge and service to BASES and the sport and exercise science community.

Another Brunel Sport Sciences MSc alumnus, Matthew Wells, won silver in the men’s double sculls after being chased down just before the finish line by a strong New Zealand duo.

Brunel’s sporting veterans Danny Daniels Danny Daniels, a student at one of Brunel’s predecessor colleges, Borough Road, more than half a century ago, is now gearing up to compete in the gruelling decathlon for the World Masters Athletics Championships in California in July 2011. The current athletics team and Sport Sciences staff wish him all the very best.

Paul Dickenson Graduate Paul Dickenson was, in his time, one of the best hammer throwers in the world, breaking the British and Commonwealth records.

Paul and Danny

Paul came to the University’s predecessor institution, Borough Road College, in 1968 to study teaching. His early athletics promise came to fruition during the 70s and early 80s when he represented Great Britain for 11 years including at two Olympics games – 1976 in Quebec and 1980 in Moscow. He has remained loyal to his alma mater and is now an honorary roving ambassador for Brunel, working to spread the word about the achievements of our students.

Paul is also a highly successful broadcaster and businessman. He was made Master of the University honoris causa in 2005.

Eur Ing Carol Painting For Brunel alumna Eur Ing Carol Painting (Electrical Engineering 1964), shooting is a passion. “It is a great sport that you can do all your life. I recommend anyone who hasn’t tried it to come along to one of the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Open Days at Bisley.”

Carol captained the English Twenty Club team at Raton in New Mexico in 1998 and then again in 2003 against the Combined Services. In 2004-2006 she was Captain of Hampshire and won the Victor Ludorum.

In 2005 she got to the Queen’s Final and George’s Final for the first time and captained and won the Lawrence and National matches.

In 2007 Carol went to Canada as part of the GB Veterans team who won the World Championship match. She captained the England team who won the European Long Range Championships in 2008 and again in 2009 she led the team at the Mackinnon Champion of Champions competition. Last year Carol competed in her fiftieth consecutive Grand Aggregate.

Brunel Alumni sailing weekend Over the last few years, Brunel University’s Sailing Club has gone from strength to strength with a fleet of eight Laser2s, 2 RS Visions, 1 Laser 3000 and an RS 800 racing skiff. The number of members has also grown to 50, 20 of whom are in the racing squad.

In fleet racing, the Club has developed into one of strongest in Britain, competing at the BUSA Fleet Nationals and winning the BUSA Inlands in 2008.

They are also introducing beginners to sailing by running RYA Level 1 and 2 courses.

The Club is holding an Alumni Sailing Weekend for former members and anyone who would like to get out on the water, at Datchet Water Sailing Club on 18-19 June at 10am. The event caters for all levels, so whether you’d like to try team racing in the new fleet, have a relaxed sailing day or just catch up with friends, then come along.

For more information email: chairman@brunelsailing.com or visit www.brunelsailing.com.

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Research with a purpose In the fast-changing context of higher education, it pays to be both ambitious and adaptable, to combine a vision for the future with the readiness to respond to new initiatives and policies.

Our investment in dozens of new research staff and the development of imaginative collaborative research networks were rewarded in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise with outstanding results and a 54.5% increase in research funding from HEFCE. However, the criteria for the next assessment exercise have changed.

The Research Excellence Framework will place greater emphasis on the impact of universities’ activities on the wider world, and once again we are aiming to be ahead of the curve. Some of the successes of the last 12 months fit the new brief very comfortably.

Mobile phones could be the key to better STI diagnosis

Alzheimer’s clues found in middle-aged adults

A consortium of academic and industrial researchers has been awarded a £5.7 million grant to improve sexual health through the use of new technology.

Dr Kate Hone is focusing on the software design and interface to encourage the desired response from patients, including the uptake of treatment, notifying a partner, and accessing safer-sex messages.

The eSTI² system could even make an appointment at a GP surgery or sexual health clinic, or send a message to the nearest pharmacy, use GPS to direct the user there, and have a prescription ready to pick up.

The consortium also includes University College London, the University of Warwick, Queen Mary University of London, the Health Protection Agency, and industrial partners.

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An innovative device that cancels out the noise of the dental drill could mark the end for anxiety-ridden trips to the dentist, according to a collaborative project between dental and engineering researchers at Brunel University, London South Bank University and King’s College London.

Working in a similar way to noisecancelling headphones, patients plug this device into their MP3 player, and can listen to their own music and hear their dentist speak, while completely blocking out the high pitch of the drill.

A special chip (a digital signal processor) analyses the incoming sound from microphones placed close to the drill and produces an inverted sound wave to cancel out unwanted noise in the headphone signal. It also uses ‘adaptive filtering’ technology, where electronic filters lock onto sound waves and remove them.

The sound of the dental drill is one of the main contributors to anxiety during dental treatment.

The eSTI² (electronic self-testing instruments for sexually transmitted infections) project, led by St George’s University of London in partnership with Brunel, aims to develop self-test devices that can quickly identify any STI. The results are then communicated via a mobile phone or computer to help patients seek out the treatment they might need.

Brunel is involved in several elements of the eSTI² system. Professor Wamadeva Balachandran is developing how the device can quickly and accurately detect STI pathogen nucleic acids. He explained: “Users will be able to add their samples to the device, which could then process the sample and communicate the results wirelessly. Software on the phone or computer will analyse the data, make a diagnosis and recommend a course of action.”

New device may reduce fear of the dentist’s drill

The Brunel arm of the project, led

by Dr Mark Atherton, Reader in Mechanical Engineering, was responsible for constructing the prototype and developing the filtering algorithm.

The project team is now seeking an investor to help bring the device to market.

A study led by Psychology Professor David Bunce suggests that the neurological decline thought to lead to the development of Alzheimer’s disease may begin much earlier in people’s lives than was originally thought. It has revealed that some apparently healthy adults aged between 44 and 48 have minute white matter lesions in areas of their brains similar to those found in people with Alzheimer’s disease later in life.

A further finding has allowed scientists to more easily predict which individuals may develop these lesions through a simpleto-administer measure of attention.

Professor Bunce explained: ”Although we cannot be certain that these middle-aged people will go on to get dementia, the study lays open possibilities for screening, early detection and intervention in healthcare settings, which may increase the chances of preventing or delaying the disease onset.”

A key player in Brunel’s Centre of Contemporary Music Practice is Dr Jennifer Walshe, who featured on the cover of the November 2010 issue of the renowned independent music magazine The Wire. The publication included a sixpage feature entitled ‘Jennifer Walshe: the art of faking it.’

THE WIRE 321 | NOVEMBER 2010

Wired Walshe

Jennifer Walshe The art of faking it

| Aki Onda | Drexciya | Julie | Wim | William | John David Jennifer Sylvian Walshe Tippetts Mertens Basinski Tilbury

She is also an improviser, performing regularly with musicians in Europe and the USA. Her music has been performed and broadcast worldwide and she has received commissions from most of the major European new music festivals.

THE WIRE 321 | NOVEMBER 2010 Adventures In Modern Music £4 | 9 770952 068090 11

Dr Walshe is a prolific award-winner and many of her recent compositions use her voice in conjunction with other instruments.

Drexciya The Otolith Group decode the Techno enigma, plus the Detroit legends on record

Wim Mertens | John Tilbury Bjørn Torske | Kommissar Hjuler & Mama Baer Laetitia Sadier on Jorge Ben | Brian Dillon on Kate Bush | Terry Riley

The Wire issue 321, November 2010.

Photo credit: Tara Darby

Photo credit: C. Lancefield

Brunel’s contemporary music makes waves Photo credit: Evan Amos

The Nintendo Wii comes to Brunel to aid stroke rehabilitation Dr Emmanuel Tsekleves, from the School of Engineering and Design, and Dr Cherry Kilbride, the School of Health Sciences and Social Care, have secured £75,000 from the NHS London Innovation Fund for a 15-month research project that will explore and evaluate the patient and healthcare professional’s experience of using Wii console technology in rehabilitation. They will also develop a Wii remote based rehabilitation prototype system that will facilitate customised exercises for stroke patients and measure clinical outcomes.

The Brunel led project includes NHS partners in Barnet, Hillingdon, Imperial College and Haringey.

Contemporary music at Brunel has attracted some of the world’s most innovative composers and performers. The Music subject areas reputation in this field has been further enhanced by two new prestigious research centres.

The Brunel Institute for Contemporary Middle-Eastern Music, headed by Professor Peter Wiegold, is both a resource centre, containing a library of scores, manuscripts and recordings, and a comprehensive database of Middle Eastern composers and musicians. The Institute will be the focus for international conferences, performances and academic exchanges.

The University has also become partners with Aldeburgh Music in setting up the Institute of Composing to explore 21st century music from the viewpoints of composer, performer, technologist, writer and audience.

The Institute will promote debate about the nature of contemporary musicmaking alongside the underlying craft of composition.

The power of dots Dr Dawn Leslie, from the School of Sport and Education, has won a £125,000 First Grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council to delve deeper into the world of quantum dots.

These nanoparticles are just 10 to 50 atoms in diameter. Their luminescent properties mean they make excellent semiconductors, and they have an increasingly important role to play in the security and healthcare sectors.

Dr Leslie’s research will look into how quantum dots can be used in the development of radiation measurement technology, for example to determine the level of radiation dose received by patients, or to verify medical equipment sterilisation.

Dr Leslie will collaborate with colleagues from the Wolfson Centre for Materials Processing and the School of Engineering and Design. She has previously worked with Brunel’s Professor Peter Hobson on the development of the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) for the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, Geneva.

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Research with a purpose Brunel/US collaboration looks at how parasites infect their hosts In 2010, Dr Joanna Bridger from the Centre of Cell and Chromosome Biology was invited by US scientist Dr Matty Knight from the Biomedical Research Institute in Maryland to collaborate on a study of the genome of the tropical fresh water snail Biomphalaria glabrata.

The genome-sequencing project, which received £120,000 in funding from the US National Institute of Health, was part of a larger project to understand how parasites infect their hosts, but went further than just mapping genes. The team was able to uncover more about the behaviour of the genes when an infection was simulated, giving a novel insight into host:parasite interaction mechanisms.

The tropical fresh water snail Biomphalaria glabrata Photo credit: Fred A. Lewis, Yung-san Liang, Nithya Raghavan and Matty Knight for the Public Library of Science

British Academy grant on problem gambling

New Digital Language Dr Sharon Baurley, Brunel’s Head of Design, is heading a two-year £775,000 feasibility study, Digital Sensoria, funded by the Research Councils’ UK Digital Economy Programme.

Its aim is to provide designers, consumers, corporations and communities with a new language that will enable them to communicate people’s sensory perceptions of designs and real products through rich multi-modal digital interfaces.

In the UK, about 3% of the adult population are problem gamblers. However, the mechanisms leading to problem gambling are poorly understood.

A new British Academy funded project, awarded to Fernand Gobet, Professor of Cognitive Psychology in the School of Social Sciences, now aims to fill this gap by developing computer models that will help understand the genesis and maintenance of problem gambling. Gamblers often show cognitive distortions (for example, the illusion of controlling processes that are random) and the emphasis of this research will be on how such distortions come into existence and how they are maintained.

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Dr Baurley researches new types of design products that involve the fusion of the real and the digital, and how materials science can realise this interplay.

Innovative manufacturing: Brunel leads the way The University is in a prime position to capitalise on a key government strategy to move UK manufacturing ‘up the value chain’. The Government aims to push UK manufacturing into the high-value, high-technology, areas that will provide sustainable and long-term growth for manufacturing industries in the UK.

Brunel is one of only four universities to lead two EPSRC centres of excellence in manufacturing. The new £9 million EPSRC Centre for Innovative Manufacturing in Liquid Metal Engineering is a partnership between Brunel, Jaguar-Land-Rover and Rolls Royce, together with Oxford and Birmingham universities. The £12 million healthcare technologies centre, MATCH, part of the EPSRC Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre in Assessment of Medical Device Technologies, has a range of industrial and public sector partners and clients, together with collaborators at Birmingham, Nottingham and Ulster Universities.

Now, the University has established a specialist Collaborative Research Network in Innovative Manufacturing to encourage cross-pollination within the University yet more collaborations and funding opportunities with external partners. It will bring together researchers specialising in such areas as precision micromanufacturing, sustainable manufacturing, materials processing, experimental techniques and business management in a creative, problem-solving network able to initiate and respond to new manufacturing developments.

Research publications Dr Alberto Testa and Dr Gary Armstrong

Dr Costas Karageorghis

School of Sport and Education

Inside Sport Psychology presents a comprehensive guide to using mental training to maximise sport performance.

It demonstrates how to apply psychology in a range of sport settings by offering an accessible and evidence-based approach.

Football, Fascism and Fandom is essential reading for those interested in both the contemporary attraction of the ideologies of neo-fascism, and the unfinished project that is the pursuit of parliamentary democracy and the modern nation state.

Professor Peter Beresford School of Health Sciences and Social Care Being a Mental Health Service User shows that what may begin as a painful and unwanted experience can pave the way for new understandings. It also shows life chances. It also shows how psychiatric service users are coming together to bring about changes benefiting us all.

School of Sport and Education

Contributions from

Professor Christine Piper and Felicity Kaganas Brunel Law School Feminist Judgments: From Theory to Practice is intended to highlight alternative, feminist ways of approaching legal issues – all contributors are leading feminist scholars.

Professor Neil Anderson and Dr Ana-Cristina Costa

Dr Joanna Bridger

Brunel Business School

Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation (FISH) is a collection of 35 protocol chapters from international experts in the field, which portray the vibrant complexity and diversity of fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) methodology.

Innovation and Knowledge Management is a major new work devoted to the key area of innovation and knowledge management.

School of Health Sciences and Social Care

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Entrepreneurship The power of commercialisation The results of a major research project at Brunel have found their way across the world and will soon be improving the efficiency of China’s buses.

A team of academics in Brunel’s Centre for Advanced Powertrain and Fuels Research have developed regenerative engine braking stop/start technology, which can improve fuel efficiency and also lead to better vehicle performance. Brunel recently signed a technology licence agreement with Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Ltd, China’s largest producer of diesel engines, which will allow Yuchai to transfer the technology and apply it on buses across the country.

This is the latest example of what the Commercialisation Office seeks to achieve with the wide range of intellectual property (IP) that arises from academic and student

Mark Young wins British Science Association’s IKB award Brunel nominated for ‘Entrepreneurial University of the Year 2010’ Brunel was shortlisted in the Times Higher Education Awards (THE) for its achievements as an entrepreneurial institution. The nomination was based on the University’s many activities, initiatives and awards including the Global Business Excellence Award, the success of its in-house companies, strategic business partnerships, the Rate My Placement Award, major student competitions and Made in Brunel.

The THE Awards, now in their sixth year, aim to recognise the ground-breaking work undertaken by UK higher education institutions. This particular nomination recognises those HEIs who have embedded entrepreneurial activity in the fabric of their institutions so successfully that their environment and culture fosters enterprising thinking amongst all members of the community.

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Dr Mark Young has won the British Science Association’s (BSA) Isambard Kingdom Brunel Award for his research into the automation of life. He presented an Award Lecture at last year’s British Science Festival in September.

Each year the BSA honours five young UK researchers for excelling in communicating their subjects with passion and enthusiasm.

Dr Young’s lecture, called ‘Letting George do it; are we over-automating our lives?’ looked at how ‘George’ (the colloquial term for an aircraft’s autopilot) now plays a significant role in our lives not just in the skies but in trains and cars, at work, at home, and everywhere in between.

The lecture focussed on the human factors associated with automation and its related technologies, discussing the cognitive factors of working with automation, and social and motivational aspects such as acceptance of and trust in technology.

The Award Lectures are incredibly popular and aim to promote open and informed discussion on scientific issues. It encourages young scientists to explore the social aspects of their research, providing them with reward and recognition for doing so.

research. The Office actively scours the University for IP that has significant market potential and then develops commercial propositions to license on to others, or occasionally to be the basis of new spin-out companies.

The Commercialisation Office increases students and academics’ understanding of business and of taking a new development to market. They also support Brunel graduates who decide to set up their own business.

If you would like to get involved, by either mentoring, reviewing project ideas, becoming a CEO in a Brunel spin-out company or networking in your industry, or if you would like information on how to provide angel or other types of investment in Brunel commercialisation projects, please contact Adrian Simon or Stuart Wright on 01895 266192.

Researchers secure £0.5m for Age UK project A consortium of Brunel academics has been awarded £540,000 to develop innovative new business models for Age UK, the UK’s largest non-governmental organisation (NGO) working to improve the life of older people.

The three-year Knowledge Transfer Partnership project will be led by Dr Gabriella Spinelli (Brunel Business School) and will interweave research streams in usability and design, market research and ICT. The team plans to produce a novel cluster profile of the 50+ age group and a ‘product and service’ accreditation scheme with an ICT system to support its operation which Age UK can extend to commercial parties interested in securing the over-50s market. This will revolutionise the NGO’s revenue generation, which can then be used to fund its wider social agenda.

Age UK, the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), TSB and the KTP are funding the research.

Devraj Joshi Product Design Engineering BSc 2010 “Time flies when you are having fun and graduation now seems like a distant memory.

Since then, I have been working with rAndom International as well as a number of other clients on a freelance basis. Work with rAndom is challenging and rewarding both creatively and technically, and has provided me with opportunities for travel as well as access to otherwise untouchable industry behemoths.

My first project – designing an interactive centre piece for the Bloomberg office in the centre of the City – was recently completed.

Innovation that works One exhibition, three days, 193 students, 250 innovative ideas In 2010, Made in Brunel was five years old. The opportunity to display their painstakingly assembled projects to a wide audience has become an established rite of passage for the University’s final year Engineering and Design students and now seems like an integral part of their transition to the world of work.

to potential investors. Instead, it is a means of advertising the creativity, imagination and professionalism of Brunel students as well as their raw potential.

Made in Brunel 2010 tackled a huge variety of issues, from niche problems, such as a teaching bracelet to help autistic people improve their social skills, to devices that could fundamentally alter the design of everyday objects, like Rotalock, a bicycle immobilisation system built straight onto the wheel, and the Link integrated gear system.

Dr Ross Brawn, Team Principal for the Mercedes GP Petronas Formula One Team and a long-time supporter of Made in Brunel, perfectly summed up the importance of the talent that is so evident at the annual event: “Made in Brunel… generates incredible excitement. These students are not just full of innovative ideas; they have the skills to develop, optimise and realise these ideas. These are the future drivers of industrial innovation.”

Many of the students engaged with sustainability as a theme, looking at issues of power, produce and water supply in the developing world.

On the night, we catch up with one of the Directors of the 2010 project: Devraj Joshi, who describes his year since Made in Brunel.

However, while the projects often have real-world value, Made in Brunel is not about promoting fully-fledged products

Find out more at www.madeinbrunel.com

It has been interesting to watch my friends and peers from the Made in Brunel project progress professionally. As Director, the project afforded me exposure to the widest possible variety of people, organisations and ideas in both academia and industry.

The experiences I had in my final year and at Made in Brunel gave me innumerable skills which made my transition into industry straightforward and hassle free.

I finished my introduction to the Made in Brunel book by saying it marked a beginning and not an end, and this has definitely been the case for me since leaving Brunel. My experiences as Director prepared me well for meeting the challenges ahead and gave me a year-long crash course in project management at a really complex level.

Definitely not the end – more the confidence to say: ‘What’s next?’”

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Brunel and

Building Brunel: 45 years of evolution brutalism Brutalism was an architectural movement initiated in the post-War era by Le Corbusier, and christened in the 1950s from the term béton brut, meaning ‘raw concrete’.

The use of relatively inexpensive concrete gave architects the freedom to design buildings in dramatic new ways.

Unfortunately, the brutalist style was not universally liked, nor did it age well in the northern European climate, and it fell into disrepute by the late 1970s.

However, brutalism has begun to enjoy something of a rehabilitation. The renovation of London’s National Film Theatre and Southbank Centre has transformed what were considered eyesores into statements

The University opened up its campus last September for a special exhibition, Building Brunel – a celebration of more than four decades of architectural change.

of modernity. So, while brutalist buildings – including the ones on Brunel’s campus – will never be considered pretty, their austerity may begin to be seen with rather more affection. Indeed, two of Brunel’s examples are now regarded as worthy of listed status for their architectural significance: he Engineering Towers (see below) and the Lecture Centre.

Time has done little to soften the impact of one of the most divisive building on campus.

A textbook example of ‘brutalist’ architecture, the Lecture Centre was made famous when Stanley Kubrick used it in some scenes of his dystopian masterpiece, A Clockwork Orange, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Although its roots go back to 1928, what we now call Brunel University was established in 1966, and the heart of the campus – the lecture centre, refectory, engineering centre (now called Howell), Saltash Hall and the administration building – was mostly in place before the Acton site fully migrated to Uxbridge in 1971.

The University was designed to promote integration between students of all disciplines by grouping teaching and social facilities in communal buildings – an unusual approach in its day. This concept continued as the sports centre, science buildings and more halls of residence were added, all in a traffic-free core with a perimeter road that kept vehicles away from the pedestrianised campus.

The first decade of the 21st century has seen a transformation on the same scale as that first decade in Brunel’s development. Its original striking architecture sits alongside the best of today’s building design following £300 million of investment in buildings and infrastructure, with more underway.

The Engineering Towers aimed to unite the University’s engineering disciplines through a series of interconnected workshops, labs and teaching rooms. The layout was considered a success, but their appearance was not universally loved. One member of the public complained to a national magazine: “The plan amazed and shocked me. [It] might come in handy for a new open prison or it might interest a tycoon in the battery-hen line.”

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While the next decade of campus development will not see such dramatic change as the last, there is still much to look forward to. The new Eastern Gateway building – with its 400-seater auditorium, art gallery and café – will open in 2012 and the Meeting House will give way to a new multi-faith/community centre.

Finally, to return to those startling 1960s structures, the University has already begun to renovate and repair many of our older buildings – the former science buildings, Heinz Wolff and Halsbury – and will move on to the Lecture Centre and Hamilton Centre in the coming years.

Two aerial views explain most eloquently just how far Brunel’s architectural landscape has come in 45 years.

Foreground to distance: The Bannerman Centre, joined to the 1970s building (formerly known as the library); the white Michael Sterling building; and the circular Terracotta Council Chamber.

Opened in 2005, the Indoor Athletics Centre introduced worldclass training facilities to the heart of campus and at a standard that has attracted the likes of Usain Bolt with the GB sprint team to use Brunel as a training base.

The multi-million pound Mary Seacole building opened in 2006 to provide Health Sciences and Social Care with striking, custom-built facilities, at Uxbridge, when Osterley Campus was closed for good.

The Isambard Close Complex brought Brunel’s on-site accommodation up to 4,571 rooms, four-fifths of them en suite.

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Graduation Graduation Week provided an opportunity for staff, students and their friends and families to recognise the achievements of the graduating class of 2010.

The eight ceremonies, held in the Indoor Athletics Centre, were cause for celebration across campus.

2010 Honorary Fellowships

Honorary Graduates

• Richard Asplin Former member of staff – Corporate Web Editor, Publications

Brunel awarded 12 honorary doctorates this year.

• Andrew Barrett Brunel graduate – former Head of Business Marketing and Consultancy Services at St Thomas’s NHS Foundation Trust

Honorary Fellowships are awarded to those who have established a close working relationship with the University or to retired staff who have given exceptional service to Brunel. Brunel conferred 13 honorary fellowships in 2010.

• Lesley Chisholm Former member of staff – School of Health Sciences and Social Care/ Brunel International • Julie Dearsley Former member of staff – Systems Officer, Computer Centre • Dr Michael Day Former member of staff – Senior Lecturer in Education • Joe Ferry Brunel graduate – Senior Vice President, Global Experience and Design

Clifford Joseph Price (Goldie) was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Social Sciences in recognition of his outstanding services to the national community.

Helen Patricia Sharman OBE was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Science in recognition of her outstanding services to science education.

The renowned DJ, artist, actor and musician is best known for his work in the jungle and drum and bass genres, but began his career as a graffiti artist in Wolverhampton. His career spans a range of art forms from electronic music to visual art and acting, and he appeared in the James Bond film The World is Not Enough and Guy Ritchie’s Snatch. In the 1990s he set up the record label Metalheadz. He also appeared in the campaign, ‘Give Them a Voice’ aimed at encouraging people to become social workers, a decision driven by his own experience of the help that social workers gave him during his childhood.

In 1991, at the age of 27, Helen Sharman became the first Briton in space, aboard a USSR capsule bound for the Mir Space Station. A former chemist for Mars Confectionery, Helen became an astronaut by chance after answering an advertisement she heard on the car radio: ‘Astronaut wanted. No experience necessary.’ Since then, Helen has worked as a broadcaster and presenter, communicating science to the public for radio and TV. She was appointed OBE in 1993.

Receiving his degree, he said: “I am still living the dream… what we do today will shape the future.” He paid tribute to his wife, Mika, his daughter, Chance, aged 12, and “the universe for allowing me to spread my energy.”

Others: • Anthony Balkwill – 3M Advanced Principal Engineer • Steven Berkoff – Actor, writer and director • Sir Peter Blake – Artist • David Delpy – Chief Executive, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council • Steve Jackson – Co-founder, Games Workshop • Michael Nyman – Composer

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• Dr Mary Morley Director of Therapies, SW London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust • Geoffrey Oxlee Formerly Group Captain, RAF. Commanding Officer of the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre and founder and MD of Kalagate Imagery Bureau • Dr Antony Segal Retired GP and aviation safety researcher • Dr Michael Storr Head of Teacher Programmes and Visits Service, CERN, Geneva • Geoff Taylor Brunel graduate – member of Brunel University Court, former Development Director at Land Securities, London • Shailesh Vara Brunel graduate – MP for North West Cambridgeshire, Assistant Whip in the Coalition Government • Thomas Watson Former member of staff – Senior Lecturer in Education

• Diana Rimmer – Former Consultant Microbiologist and Medical Director, Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust; former member of Brunel Council • Geoffrey Robertson QC – Founder and Head of Doughty Street Chambers; human rights specialist • The Rt Hon The Lord Steel of Aikwood – Former Leader of the Liberal Party and presiding officer of the Scottish Parliament • Baroness Diana Warwick of Undercliffe – Former Chief Executive of Universities UK

Alumni Honorary Fellows: l-r Andrew Barrett, Geoff Taylor, Shailesh Vara MP, Joe Ferry.

Graduate news Archie Panjabi wins Emmy Award Archie Panjabi (Management Studies 1996) beat Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss and Christina Hendricks to pick up the Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her part in The Good Wife at a lavish ceremony held in Los Angeles in August.

Her elation at winning the accolade was clearly evident during her acceptance speech.

“When I started in the business in England, just getting a job was a dream,” she said. “To receive an Emmy now is just beyond my wildest dreams. This is just amazing for my career – thank you so much!”

This is by no means Archie’s first critically acclaimed role. The London-born 38-year-old first made a name for herself in the British hit films East is East and Bend it Like Beckham, before moving on to star in several major Hollywood roles. She played a British diplomat in the Oscar-winning The Constant Gardener and a former Wall Street Journal reporter in A Mighty Heart, the true-to-life account of the search for missing journalist Daniel Pearl, featuring Angelina Jolie.

In 2005, she won the Shooting Star Award for her role as the title character in Yasmin at the Berlin Film Festival, and the Best Actress award in the same year at the Reims Film Festival.

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Graduate news Professor Mark Pearce Applied Physics, 1992 Mark Pearce graduated from Brunel in 1992 before starting a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics at the University of Birmingham. He spent the majority of his PhD years living in Geneva, Switzerland and working at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics. In 1996, he moved to Sweden and since 2007 he has been Professor of Physics at The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm.

Photo credit: Ola Jacobsen

Mark said: “Everyone is familiar with the idea of studying the heavens through a telescope. In my research group we replace the telescope with scientific instruments which can ‘see’ the universe in other ways, for example using X-rays or subatomic particles. In order to avoid the shielding effects of the Earth’s atmosphere, the experiments are carried high into the

atmosphere on board research balloons or into space on board earth orbiting satellites. In 2006, a satellite carrying one of our instruments was launched into orbit from Kazakhstan. We have been studying antimatter (a kind of mirror-image of the matter we are familiar with on earth) in space and have made some very interesting discoveries. There’s still more data to sift through, so these are exciting times! Our next challenge is to fly another instrument we have developed around the world at an altitude of 40km, starting in Sweden and flying westwards over Canada and Russia before landing back in Sweden.

This time we will be looking at neutron stars and black holes in a new way. Our instrument weighs two tonnes, so the balloon is very large – about a million cubic metres.”

Dr Ehsaan Farsimadan BEng Mechanical Engineering, 2004; PhD, 2008 While writing up his PhD thesis Ehsaan joined the engineering consultancy Cundall. In November 2009 he presented a session to industry experts entitled ‘How resilient is your data centre? Will your IT equipment survive a site-wide power failure’, at the Data Centre Dynamics (DCD) conference. Following this he received two nominations at the Data Centre Leaders Awards for Future Thinking and Design Concepts and Young Mission Critical Engineer of the Year.

In April 2010 Ehsaan was presented with an award by Declan Curry of the BBC at the ACE Engineering Excellence Awards, for his work on ‘Extending the boundaries of modelling: the impact of site power failure on data centres’.

Since then he has submitted a journal paper to of Energy and Buildings, which is currently under review.

Ehsaan said: “I have been lucky in that I have had the chance of working with some major financial institutes and site developers, and I have learned so much in such a short time. I will never forget my years at Brunel, and thank the staff, in particular my supervisor Dr Reza Mokhtarzadeh and the Head of Research Professor Luiz Wrobel] in the School of Engineering and Design, for their assistance.”

Muhammad Nasir Ladan MA Communications and Technology,1998 Muhammad started his course in 1992, but due to challenges arising from the political situation in Nigeria, he could not submit his dissertation until 1996. He graduated in 1998.

Muhammad is now Director and Head of the Public Affairs and Communications Department of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria. He is responsible for creating public awareness on fundamental human rights, aimed at promoting their observance and increasing the willingness of victims of human rights violation to seek redress.

His department also promotes a culture

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of respect for human rights in both public and social life.

In his role, Muhammad uses the power of the mass media to advocate and promote debate on topical issues. However in Nigeria, whether run by government or commercial organisations, media bodies often reflect their management’s views not only in the stories they select but also in their presentation. This not only perpetuates a range of stereotypes, which further entrench social disadvantages and discrimination, but also takes the focus off issues of public interest and social welfare including human rights.

In order to overcome this, Muhammad has undertaken various advocacy programmes aimed at influencing behavioural change.

He monitors and evaluates media coverage and public response to the work of the Department, produces in-house journals annual and periodic reports, works with NGOs and CBOs, and has been involved in various research projects aimed at addressing fundamental issues.

Muhammad said: “The Masters Degree I obtained from Brunel really stands me in good stead to perform my current duties.

My regards to all, particularly Professor Julian Petley and Veronica Johnson.”

Meet Brunel International’s online ambassador We are delighted to introduce Shivani Balla (MSc Corporate Brand Management, 2009), our first international online ambassador. You’ll find her posting information, answering questions and sharing her own Brunel experiences on our Facebook pages, as well as at Orkut and www.studentroom.co.uk.

For the past eight months she has been working in strategic marketing with the The Times of India. She lives in Delhi.

Recalling her time with us, she says: “The campus is beautiful, with great residences, a fantastic library and even its own nightclub. I made friends for life there from different countries. It felt like home away from home.”

Turning to her new role, Shivani explains that she tries to be unbiased, giving students honest information and putting misconceptions right, so they can make the best decisions for themselves.

Brunel Electrical Engineering alumni reception at the IET

Brunel shortlisted for 2011 THE Leadership and Management Awards Brunel earned two nominations in the 2011 Times Higher Education Leadership and Management Awards. The first nomination was for the Outstanding Research Management Team, reflecting the work undertaken by a whole host of teams and individuals to support the University’s research community. The second was for Outstanding Library Team.

This is a fantastic achievement for the University, and it goes at least some way to recognising the achievements of the many staff whose hard work and dedication have resulted in these award nominations.

At the end of October, the Alumni Office and Brunel’s School of Engineering and Design hosted a reception for Electrical Engineering Alumni at London’s Institute of Engineering Technologists (IET). The event gave around 100 alumni and staff the chance to meet and network.

The graduates were welcomed by Brunel’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks and Professor Abdul Sadka, Head of Electronic and Computer Engineering, who gave a presentation entitled ‘Electronic and Computer Engineering at Brunel University – a 50 year journey’. It highlighted not only the Department’s history, but also the success of so many of Brunel’s graduates and staff, including Professor Gerry Musgrave and Dr Andrew Ives who were in the audience.

There was also a note on the very topical subject of student fees, with Professor Sadka quoting from the original regulations of the University.

These stated that the fee for students was to be set not higher than £17, and that the course would be best suited for “Young men who might be judged to be able later to manage production units in manufacturing firms and to be earning, by current standards, between £1,100 and £1,350 a year by the time they are 30.”

The Alumni Office and the School would like to thank all those who joined us, making it such an enjoyable event. If you would like further information about the School or other ways in which you can be involved with Brunel University, please contact alumni@brunel.ac.uk.

Brunel awarded Buttle UK Quality Mark for further two years Brunel has been awarded the Buttle UK Quality Mark for the second time, in recognition of the support it provides for care leavers.

The Buttle UK Trust Quality Mark was set up to recognise Higher Education institutions that go the extra mile to support students who have been in public care. Brunel’s commitment to care leavers includes assisting them with the university application process and supporting them on entry by providing, among other things, an induction session, a named contact, year-round on-campus accommodation and the opportunity to apply for a professional mentor in Levels 2 and 3.

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Graduates in print

Terry Hissey – History and Music 2005

Ruth Chigwada-Bailey – Sociology 1983

Come if ye Dare – The Civil Defence George Crosses tells the stories of eleven people whose courage earned them the highest civilian gallantry award. Terry Hissey is a member of the CDA and his research took him to the National Archives at Kew as well as to museums, libraries and archives around the country. Presently Terry serves as a Musician in the Territorial Army and recently received a Bar to his Volunteer Reserves Service Medal. Professionally, he works for the Ministry of Defence as a Historical Researcher in Whitehall.

Criminology in the Millennium was edited

by Ruth Chigwada-Bailey, an independent criminologist who has been running Race, Gender and Criminal Justice conferences since 1991. She is well known in the United Kingdom and abroad as a commentator and writer on issues affecting black women, notably in relation to criminal justice. Her own chapter is entitled ‘Black Women’s Experiences of the Criminal Justice System.’

Christy Lefteri - MA English 2002, PhD Arts current A Watermelon, a Fish and a Bible has won critical and public acclaim. It is July 1974 and on a bright, sunny morning, the Turkish army has invaded the village of Kyrenia in Cyprus. For many people, this means an end to life as they know it. But for some, it is a chance to begin living again.

Huw Turbervill – Sports Science and English at West London Institute, 1991-1994 The Toughest Tour Daily covering the last 64 years of Ashes series Down Under – 16 tours with a chapter on each. Telegraph sports writer Huw interviewed 23 England cricketers including Nassar Hussain, Mark Butcher, Frank Tyson, Ray Illingworth, Ian Bell and the late Alec Bedser.

Professor Angus McLeod – Chemistry 1975 Performance Coaching Tool kit – McGram-Hill and the OU

Deborah Klaassen – current Creative Writing student Bek dicht en dooreten – Published in Dutch.

Deborah began the book as her dissertation for the MA Creative Writing. Her supervisor Matt Thorne described it as “a blackly comic and in places genuinely disturbing piece of work” but added “it is also one of the most original and most imaginative novels that I have ever encountered from a student”.

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Valerie Jack – PGCE 2007 Fireworks is a play about family ties and special needs. Katie has Prader-Willi Syndrome and a documentary maker has come to stay. A cracked combination code, a missing jigsaw piece, new red lingerie, and a serious allegation build towards a darkly explosive climax. ‘Intriguing and disquieting’ Hampstead Theatre. Visit www.valeriejack. com for future performances.

Graduate stories Brian Saffer recalls the beginning of the Uxbridge Campus Mechanical Production Engineering, 1970 One Sunday in September 1966 I loaded a couple of suitcases into Dad’s Austin A60 and we headed down to the Uxbridge Campus, although then it was more a building site! The only operational building was the hall of residence known as ‘The Hall’ and the 100 or so freshers met in a marquee for a welcome afternoon and evening meal.

Early the following day, coaches assembled to take us all to Acton. The University was still at Acton but we lucky few got to live on the new campus, which also included the Library, Refectory, Labs and Lecture Theatres by our second year.

Our computing experience was an hour a week where we wrote commands by hand. These were then submitted to ‘The Computer’ in central London and a week later we were presented with a short roll of punched tape!

Back then it was still a Technological University with the ratio of male to female of 10:1. However Hillingdon Hospital had a large nurses’ training home close by and thus the balance was restored.

After graduating, I worked in the food and drink industry in production and factory management and for the past 20 years I have been involved in a number of roles within retail inventory and audit. But my four years at Brunel were some of my most enjoyable. If only I had worked harder!

What Brian failed to mention was that, in 1968, he appeared in an article in the Daily Mirror…

A students’ plot to kidnap TV personality Dav id Frost was foiled last nigh t when six chauffeurs dashed to his rescue.

The students po Frost as he le unced on ft the studio at Wembley w h been appearin ere he had g on The Frost Programme. B u students close t, as the d round him, Frost called o ut the six chauff for help and eurs ran up.

One of the w ou kidnappers, B ld be rian Saffer 20 , said: ‘That was enough for us; we made o ur almost as quic get-away kly as Mr Fro st’.

The students fr University Act om Brunel o take Frost to n, planned to Brian’s flat in Ealing then d em for their char and a ransom ity rag fund. B u as Brian said later, ‘Things t didn’t go quit e the way we planned’.

Borough Road’s intrepid travellers Brunel graduates have been travelling overseas to work for over 200 years, as Phaedra Casey, Brunel’s Archivist, discovered.

The British and Foreign Schools Society (BFSS) was sending trained teachers from Borough Road College (BRC) for missionary activities to Antigua, India, Haiti, Quebec and Ceylon, as early as 1809.

In 1810, for example, James Penny, who had trained at BRC, set out for Calcutta with his wife to teach at the Baptist Missionary Society, where they stayed for 20 years. Daniel Sutherland and his wife, together with several other BRC graduates who were themselves African, went out to Freetown, Sierra Leone in 1814. The city had been founded in 1792 by the Sierra Leone Company as a homeland for former African-American slaves.

Without the benefit of the information at our disposal today, most of these newly trained teachers were setting off into the unknown.

Mary Cooke went out to Calcutta in 1821, only to find on arrival that the Calcutta School Society refused to pay her. She was instead taken on by an Anglican organisation, and went on to establish over 15 monitorial schools in Calcutta.

In 1829, the BFSS Ladies’ Committee sent Martha Wallace (BRC 1828) to Malacca Free School in Malaysia at the request of an existing teacher who then married and moved to Thailand before Martha arrived. They also sent Miss J Stuart Richmond to Bombay, and she discovered on arrival that the training college she was meant to be joining had not yet been built!

Due to the rigours of travelling long distances, many people who went overseas at this time never returned. However, some did. James Penny visited England in 1834 for supplies after losing his wife to illness in Calcutta. William Knibb (BRC 1824) worked in Jamaica to improve the condition of the slaves and returned in 1832, touring England and Scotland to speak for the cause. He visited again in 1840, 1842 and 1845 as a delegate to the Anti-Slavery Convention, before dying of a fever in Jamaica in 1845. In 1988 Knibb was posthumously awarded the Order of Merit in Jamaica, the first white man to receive it.

Many of the BRC graduates settled well into their new countries, creating a future for their children and descendants. John and Emily Hume (BRC 1838), went out to Sydney and stayed. One of their descendants from New South Wales recently contacted the University Archives and we were able to provide him with copies of John’s application to BRC, his references, both John’s and Emily’s entries in the student lists, and entries in the BFSS Annual Reports tracking their safe arrival and progress in Sydney.

From its earliest days, Borough Road College was also attracting students from overseas who travelled to London from their home countries to train as teachers. But that’s another story!

Brunel University Archives is always happy to receive donations of material relating to any of its predecessor colleges, including documents, photographs, and artefacts such as scarves. Please contact the Archivist: Phaedra Casey, Archivist, Brunel University Archives, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH Tel: 01895 265390 Email: phaedra.casey@brunel.ac.uk

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Fundraising

Progeria Research at Brunel For many of us the ageing process is something we would very much like to halt and we often look to pots of cream or even the surgeon’s knife to do this.

Consider then the situation of Hayley Okines, a twelve year old who suffers from an incurable, terminal condition which means that for every year of normal life she lives, her body ages 10 years. Hayley suffers from Progeria, also known as Hutchinson– Gilford Progeria Syndrome, an extremely rare genetic condition which causes symptoms resembling aspects of ageing to

be manifested at an early age. The disorder occurs in one per eight million live births and occurs as a new mutation, so it is not usually inherited. Those born with Progeria typically live about 13 years.

Scientists are particularly interested in Progeria as it may reveal clues about the normal process of ageing. Professor Ian Kill, Dr Jo Bridger and their team at Brunel are investigating the cell mutation that gives rise to this extraordinary condition, along the way unlocking many unknown aspects of ageing that affect us all.

However, due to the unusual nature of the syndrome and the rarity of its incidence, it is hard to attract traditional forms of research funding. To support the work of the Progeria team, staff at Brunel, led

by Lesley Warren in Marketing, have so far raised £1600. Lesley recently received a Brunel Star Award for her services to charitable causes, in particular Progeria.

If you would like to get involved, do some fundraising or make a donation, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please contact Janie Grover: janie.grover@brunel.ac.uk.

Lesley Warren and Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks

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Brunel alumni contributions

Mentoring for Urban Scholars Programme I first heard of Urban Scholars when I joined PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), who had teamed up with Brunel University to form a strategic alliance. The programme has now been running very successfully for several years.

The way it works is that we all get a day off work, and pupils get to quiz us about what we do, with the intention of gaining a realistic insight into our work.

At PwC, there are endless examples of staff fundraising for Urban Scholars. In addition, PwC takes a more handson role by running skills workshops at Brunel, led by their team of recently graduated, top accountant volunteers.

Usually run on a Saturday morning, the workshops briefly touch on the job market, but are generally tailored towards the skills required for university applications, from writing opening lines to mock interviews. All the Urban Scholars are energetic, inspired and ambitious.

I’d like to say a big thank you to all involved. We love working with you and hopefully will continue to do so for many years to come.

Anugrah Singh, Senior Associate, PricewaterhouseCoopers

Brunel’s Ladies Event

Brunel graduates have yet again shown their support by donating almost £61,000 to support current and future generations of Brunel students during this year’s telephone campaign. The donations will be ‘matched’ by the Government’s matched funding initiative, which will add at least another £31,000 to the fundraising total.

The campaign, led by Development Officer Laurelle Vingoe, involved 36 current students who contacted alumni over four weeks in the summer.

They updated them on activities at Brunel, found out what they had been up to and asked if they were willing to make a donation.

An impressive 23% of alumni contacted made a donation, with a large number also choosing to support Brunel students through providing student internships, giving talks and providing careers advice.

The students equally enjoyed talking to alumni. Jaspreet Dhanda (Molecular Medicine) said: “I enjoyed talking to a variety of people and also a lot from my field, so I learnt a lot from the alumni and they also gave me advice on careers. I liked to hear about the university and how it was different when they studied here.”

The money donated by alumni goes to support student scholarships, bursaries, awards, the library, and other priority projects around the University.

Jaspreet Dhanda

The Matched Funding Scheme ends soon In 2007, Tony Blair chose Brunel as the venue to launch the Governmentled matched funding scheme. The scheme has provided £200 million over three years (2008-2011) to stimulate universities to raise at least £400 million more for new facilities, new staffing, new bursaries for students or new research capacity. Brunel University falls into the middle tier, which means that we are able to claim £1 for every £2 donated by alumni and organisations, in the UK and abroad.

As we are coming to the end of the period during which we can claim these matched funds from the Government (the scheme ends on July 31 2011), we hope that, if you haven’t before, you might consider making a donation to Brunel, or perhaps even increasing a regular donation that you have set up.

Donor Pin Week

Fay Weldon The first ever event for Brunel women was held in October 2010 at the Women’s University Club in London.

Guests were greeted and welcomed by Barbara Jenks – wife of Vice-Chancellor Professor Chris Jenks – and the Development Team. After a networking drinks reception and lunch, Janie Grover, Development Officer at Brunel University, presented a snapshot of Brunel today, noting some remarkable achievements, celebrated friends and supporters, and thoughts on the Brunel vision for the future.

Fay Weldon then enchanted and entertained the ladies with tales of her own time at the University, reminiscing about the great fun she had. Fay also remembered what a ‘man’s’ world university life was for her, having been told by one Professor that ‘women were incapable of intellect’.

She discussed whether in real terms society had changed very much, despite the progress made.

The ladies all enjoyed a take home gift of a Brunel badge and a signed copy of Fay’s latest book, Kehua.

The day was a great success and the ‘Ladies Event’ will become a regular feature on Brunel’s calendar, with a view to meeting twice a year. If you would like to join our next event in the spring, please contact Janie Grover at janie.grover@brunel.ac.uk or on 01895 267774.

During the last two summers we have sent out pin badges, in the form of a cog, to all those who have made a donation to Brunel. We invited donors to wear their badge in the last week of September as all of the students came back to Brunel ready for another academic year.

Brunel is one of a number of HE institutions who take part in Donor Pin Week in order to recognise and celebrate the enormous difference that donations and charitable gifts to universities make every year. The week coincides with Universities Week from 13-19 June and has run annually since 2007. Since then, more than 8,000 donors in the UK have received donor pins. The campaign is designed to thank donors, increase awareness of philanthropy to universities and inspire others to give.

This year we will be sending out a special pin to recognise the generosity of all those who made a gift during the Government matched funding period. For more information visit: www.giftofknowledge.org.uk/DonorPinWeek.aspx.

Alumni get together for first Pub Quiz On a cold and damp November evening in 2010, around 30 Brunel alumni gathered in the Slug and Lettuce in Leicester Square for an evening of questions, competition and banter.

The event was hosted by Development Director Clive Gee and Development Officer Laurelle Vingoe.

The four teams were made up of alumni from the 1970s to 2008. There were five rounds and it was a very tightly run race with team ‘Fully Baked’ taking home the trophy. We were also very pleased to see some other alumni who came along just for the beginning or end of the evening for a drink and a catch-up.

We will be holding the next quiz in the summer. Emails will be sent out or check our Facebook and LinkedIn pages for more information.

Brunel Link 2011 | 25

noticeboard

Opportunities to stay involved and keep in touch with Brunel and important information for graduates

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by Dr John e and one SU Executiv 1980, former rvices) Se Research time Head of anchester when did M Where and rsity? The Brunel Unive United play 80s beer 19 a mes from question co put pen s Kirkland ha mat. Dr John estion and qu is th answer el’s history. to paper to un ial time in Br ec sp a al ve re yone who ill interest an ed The book w ever attend ball or who ill appeal likes basket w it , at th e than s, Brunel. Mor ugh the 1980 ho lived thro w y an ne yo in , an to y team supported an or who has y impossible gl in em se t sport, agains odds. d within the be publishe Hopefully to next year.

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al Workers

Calling all Soci

Graduartist.com

Give back to the Placemen t and Careers Centre As a Brunel student, you may have had the opportunity to ben efit from a Work Placement as part of your degree course. If you or your org anisation could offer a current stud ent a placement please email pla cements@ brunel.ac.uk or tel +44 (0)1 895 266841.

We also warmly welcome alumni who can offer careers advice, shadowing and skills development. Do please also let the Careers team know if your organisation is recruiting, to enable us to pass on notices of vacanc ies to recent graduates. Email careers@ brunel.ac.uk or call +44 (0)1895 266840 .

26 | Brunel Link 2011

Graduartist is a new company dedicated to serving artists and art students by providing a platform on which to display and sell their wor k.

Their website gives the public acce ss to fresh undiscovered talent and the opportunity to buy work or com mission a piece. Graduartist eliminates any gallery commission fees and this saving is passed onto the buyer, enabling you to buy high quality art at affordab le prices.

e School k division of th The Social Wor re is Ca l cia So d an nces of Health Scie Alumni k or W l unel Socia setting up a Br uates. ad gr k or w l cia group for all so bring this group will Membership of int jo ng di clu in fits numerous bene d lots an ip rsh ort, mento research, supp int we po ng rti sta a , as more. However eration to to give consid would like you ts of the fi ne be d an rm the purpose, fo n discuss ca e w p, so that proposed grou eeting. rst planning m these at the fi ing a m co be rested in If you are inte Clarke an Je Dr l ai em member please k. unel.ac.u jean.clarke@br

www.graduartist.com

Brunel now licensed for weddin gs

Student Rugby League Alumni ), the The Student Rugby League (SRL governing body of University and g College Rugby League, is launchin in keep to r orde in an alumni network League by Rug ent Stud past with h touc Players. For further details visit www.studentrl.com/alumni

The Univer sity is now licensed to Civil Marriag hold e and Civil Partnership ceremonie s in the ho spitality su of the Ham ites ilton Centr e. The Lon Borough o don f Hillingdo n approved licence wit our hout oppo si tion, deem the premis ing es to be ve ry suitable informatio . For n contact Sa ndy Bryant, Catering an d Hospitalit y: Email sand y.bryant@b runel.ac.uk or call +44 (0)1895 26 5806

little All it takes is a application

d Affordable rates an e th at es iti superb facil Lancaster Suite

offers Bed The Lancaster Suite modation in om acc t and Breakfas on on Brunel’s a convenient locati campus.

Rates per room: £54.00 Single occupancy: £69.00 y: nc pa Double occu 4.00 £8 y: Triple occupanc Rates include: akfast • Continental bre ng rki pa r Ca • ol, a pool, plunge po • Spa facilities (sp m) roo sauna and steam • Freeview LCD TV aking facilities • Tea and coffee-m e • Mini-fridg • Hairdryer ternet access is • Internet point (In chargeable) a campus security • 24hr check in (vi d 7am) between 10pm an

on or for more To make a reservati (0)1895 268001 or 4 +4 l cal on informati runel.ac.uk @b aff email lancaster-st

AGENT Project The Information Systems and Computing subject area has been awarded £60k of JISC funding to set up the Alumni Growth and Engagem ent across New Technologies project – AGENT, its aim is to sustain alum ni engagement by supporting the ways that existing students connect with alumni and build mutually bene ficial relationships. The project will deve lop an e-mentoring service via socia l media sites (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twit ter) where current undergraduates are mentored by an alumnus in relat ion to employability and career developm ent.

We would welcome alumni who would like to participate, particularly those with degrees in Information Syste ms, Computer Science, Mathematica l Sciences and Business.

To find out more please email jane-lisa.coughlan@brunel.ac.uk or call +44 (0)1895 265846

Brunel Merchandise Visit www.brunelleisurewear.com for branded clothing, and www . evalondon.com/brunel for Brun el rings.

Original Brunel University scarves We have received a request to provide a replacement Brunel scarf for one of our early Alumni. The first Brun el scarves produced in the late 1960 s were claret, light blue and purple in colour and the current SU exec are thin king about re-instating this old design.

If you own one of these scarves plea se email alison.russell@brunel.ac.u k

nel e a Bru m o c e B or i Ment ring Mento track Alumn sional

is the raduate degree A Brunel postg a 10% de clu in ! Benefits obvious choice e (ie du nt ou am l e fina discount on th graduates r discount) for after any othe r for ty who registe of the Universi ate du ra search postg a taught or re ing nd fu lfse lly fu a programme on basis.

Open Days: Postgraduate m-8pm June 2011, 5p Wednesday 8 -5pm July 2011, 2pm Wednesday 27 Centre, ite, Hamilton Hospitality Su 3PH Uxbridge, UB8 Programme:

m with stands fro Course forum ; ol ho sc ic each academ e campus and • Tours of th nt ation by curre od m m acco students; e issues on postgraduat • Seminars dent life; stu d an e nc including fina ate Society • Postgradu offering ta represen tives student life; information on her areas tatives from ot • Represen ol, te Gradua Scho including the ntre and Ce s er re Ca d Placement an ional.

Brunel Internat it place, please vis To book your k c.u www.brunel.a l rmation, emai For further info k c.u .a el ol@brun graduatescho 895 265935 )1 (0 4 +4 ll ca or

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Brunel Link 2011 | 27

Congratulations Awards and Honours Prof Colin Aitchison

Hope Powell

Former Head of Electrical Engineering

Sport Science and History 1990

Member of the IET Board of Trustees.

Awarded the CBE for her services to the England Women’s National Football team.

Hope is a fully qualified ‘A’ License coach and in 2003 became the first woman to achieve the UEFA Pro Licence - the highest coaching award available.

Sir Robert Balchin Pro-Chancellor of the University Created a Peer – Lord Lingfield. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister who praised Sir Robert for his contribution to education.

Marlene JenaLouis

Information Systems, 2010

Marlene JenaLouis Claire Bertschinger MSc Medical Anthropology, 1997 Made a Dame (DBE) for her commitment to nursing and international humanitarian aid. Working as an International Red Cross nurse in Ethiopia during the 1984 famine, Claire was the central figure of a major BBC news report highlighting a plight that few people knew about. Bob Geldof was so moved by the report that he went on to organise the Band Aid charity recording, ‘Do They Know it’s Christmas?’ and the subsequent Live Aid concerts, which collectively raised in excess of £150 million.

Professor Martin Buxton Founder of Brunel’s Health Economics Research Group Awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to creating better health outcomes for people around the world. The Donabedian Award was bestowed by the International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcome Research.

Les Dawson Systems Engineering, 1980 Awarded an OBE in recognition of his services to the energy and water industries as well as his extensive charity work for Wateraid. Formally MD of United Utilities.

Mark Reily

Social Work, 2006 Awarded Outstanding Social Worker 2010 at the Social Worker of the Year Awards.

Studying for the Professional Doctorate in Social Work at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Shortlisted for the British Graduate 100 awards for achievements while at Brunel. Mark, who was nominated by his tutor Dr Simon Kent, beat 13,000 other graduates to become one of just 100 UK finalists – and one of only 10 in the IT and Computing category.

Dr Edwin Sawacha Professor Barry Jones

Construction Management, 1983

Former Brunel lecturer and Director of Brunel Centre for Manufacturing Metrology

Awarded an MBE for his work in social housing in north west London.

Appointed Vice President of the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET, formerly the IEE).

Ann Wild

Helen Louise Thwaites

Awarded the OBE for services to the GB Wheelchair Basketball team. Ann competed in five Paralympic Games for her country, from Seoul 1988 to Beijing 2008.

London School of Occupational Therapy, 1983

Occupational Therapy, 2002 and Honorary Graduate

Rosalind Munday London School of Occupational Therapy, 1985 Both awarded an MBE for services to healthcare. Worked on developing SMART (Sensory Modality Assessment and Rehabilitation Technique) - a clinical tool for the assessment and rehabilitation of people in low awareness states following severe brain injury - at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability.

Andrea Pisa Stuart Etherington

First year Design student

Government, 1977 and Honorary Graduate

Awarded the first British Promotional Merchandise Association (BPMA) 3M Design Innovation Award. Andrea’s design safeguards personal belongings with a lock which takes two hands to open, thus deterring most pickpockets. The concept can be tailored to protect business computer bags, backpacks and shoulder bags.

Knighted for his services to the Third Sector. Stuart is currently Chief executive of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

28 | Brunel Link 2011

Ann Wild

Business and Industry Clover Barnett

Professor Alison McConnell

Professor Mark Pearce

MA Education, 1996

Professor of Physiology and Sport Sciences

Applied Physics, 1992

Instrumental in the establishment of a system for the design and development of a vast pool of competency-based instructional materials and learning resources, which are used in education and training institutions in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region.

Awarded the 2010 Consumer Product Design of the Year for her POWERbreathe, an intelligent digital breathing training device which is used by many Olympic athletes and is prescribed in the NHS for breathlessness and other respiratory disorders.

Professor of Astroparticle Physics at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm.

Steven Bartholemew Politics and History, 1996 Head of Public Affairs at O2.

Simon Davis

Candice Morgan Appointed Director of Advisory Services for the Catalyst Organisation, expanding opportunities for women in business.

Navraj Nandra Microelectronics, 1991

Graham Farrant Environmental Pollution, 1987

Currently Director of Marketing, Analogue/ Mixed Signal IP for Synopsys in San Francisco.

CEO of Thurrock Council.

Eddie Franco Maths, 1972 VP Global Benefits for Aon Corporation’s business unit Aon Consulting in New York state, USA.

Dr Yuning Fu PhD Mechanical Engineering 1987 Chairman of China Merchant Bank.

SEP, 1986 CEP Expansion, Shell Oil in Port Arthur, Texas.

Cross Cultural Psychology, 2006

Politics and Social History, 1995 Head of Corporate Responsibility at O2.

Paul Pickering

Bulent Paksoy MTech Production Engineering, 1974 Director of Paksoy, one of the largest Biodiesel production plants in Turkey making vegetable based fuel.

Greg O’Connor-Read English and History, 1996 Founder and editor at Music4Games Net in Las Vegas.

Gillian Swan Design, 2005 Designing and making clocks for her own business, Oscar and Victor.

Robby Sur Computer Science, 2005 Managing Director of Yukka which he founded whilst studying at Brunel www.yukka.co.uk

Dr Edward Pearce PhD Biology, 1983 Appointed Chief Scientific Officer for the Trudeau Institute, Saranac Lake, New York state.

Professor Abba Gumel PhD Maths, 1994 Director of Institute of Industrial Mathematical Sciences, University of Manitoba.

Peter Hollick Education, 1985 Chairman of Central Bedfordshire Council.

Chris Holland Computer Science, 1993 Vice-President at Safenet Washington DC, managing teams that direct Safenet’s security business lines.

Anniversary Reunion Class of 1985 – 25th Brunel Link 2011 | 29

Sport

Arts

John Brierley

Joseph Holt and Jonathan Wharton

Former Sport Sciences lecturer Head Coach/Manager for England Athletics at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.

Team Manager, England U18 Basketball.

Ayana Cooper

Appeared in Sky’s ‘Must be the Music’ talent show in August 2010.

Brunel MPs

Other Congratulations Ceylan (Jay) Sakallioglu

Lifestyle Manager with the West Indies Cricket Board.

Communications and Media Studies, 2009

Joey Duck

UBS Project Worker on One World Week, Freshers’ Fair and the FACE festival as well as taking part in a Raleigh expedition to Borneo.

UK track athlete, appearing in the Nike Free trainers advert campaign on posters in Nike Town in New York and Rio, as well as in a television campaign featuring Maria Sharapova.

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Jenny Chapman (Swift) (Psychology, 1996) Labour – Darlington

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John Leech (Politics and Modern History, 1994) Liberal Democrats – Manchester Withington

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John McDonnell (Government, 1977) Labour – Hayes and Harlington

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Alec Shelbrooke (Mechanical Engineering, 1998) Conservative – Elmet and Rothwell in Leeds

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Shailesh Vara (Law, 1984) Conservative – North West Cambridgeshire Assistant Government Whip

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Malcolm Wicks (Honorary Graduate and former lecturer) Labour – Croydon North

Jeanne Socrates MTech Numerical Analysis, 1970 and retired Maths lecturer On her second attempt at a nonstop solo sail around the globe, the first having been abandoned due to repairs to ‘Nereida’, her 38ft sailing craft. www.svnereida.com

30 | Brunel Link 2011

Weather forecaster and environment correspondent for Daybreak on ITV.

General Election

MSc Sport Sciences, 2011

Sport Sciences, 2010

Geography and Earth Sciences, 2001

Creative Music Technology, 2006

Bob Chappell Honorary Fellow

Lucy Verasamy

Obituaries

Jock McKeon Mathematics with Management Applications, 1994

Professor Kaiyan Kaikobad Colleagues and students were saddened by the death of Brunel Law School Professor Kaiyan Kaikobad in July 2010.

After many years at Durham University, Professor Kaikobad joined Brunel in 2007.

One of his major roles at Brunel was as Director of Research for the Law School. He also took on the roles of Marketing Director, Acting Head of School and Deputy Head of School (Operations).

Professor Kaikobad was a member of the Pakistan High Court Bar and the Hague Institute of Internationalisation of Law and was consultant to governmental bodies on various issues of international law. He was on the editorial board of two journals of international law and had broadcast extensively on radio, television and in the press on important international crises, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and the Kashmir dispute.

Everyone at Brunel who knew and worked with him recall him as a great scholar, and a true and dependable friend: he was the embodiment of what it means to be a gentleman. He will be greatly missed.

Kaiyan’s family preferred no flowers to be sent to his funeral, but instead asked for donations to be made to the NSPCC. The Law School has also set up a tribute fund.

If you would like to donate please visit www.nspcc.tributefunds.com/ KaiyanKaikobad.

Professor Colin Bodsworth CEng FIMMM

Members of the University and Alumni were very saddened by the news that former Students’ Union President Mark ‘Jock’ McKeon had passed away suddenly in April 2010.

Professor Colin Bodsworth, the first Head of Metallurgy and subsequently Dean of Technology and Vice-Principal at Brunel, died in July 2010 after a short illness.

He served as both a non-sabbatical officer and in 1994 as UBS President in 1994, and oversaw the merger of Brunel and the West London Institute.

Professor Bodsworth gained practical experience of metallurgy at United Steel Companies, interrupted by war service, before his formal education at Sheffield University. His first academic appointment was at Liverpool University, which was followed by a senior research post at Richard Thomas and Baldwins’ Laboratories.

A tireless campaigner, he fought to protect the rights of final year students to stay on campus and encouraged and helped organise participation in demonstrations against the government’s proposed 30% cut in student grants. He also reminded students of the need to represent themselves in local issues such as elections, for the benefit of both themselves and the University. Not every issue was quite as serious; the RAG hit squad owed their continued existence to his sense of humour and another of his campaigning achievements.

Professor Bodsworth’s appointment in 1966 as Head of the Department of Metallurgy at the newly established Brunel University allowed him to exploit his familiarity with both the academic and industrial worlds, to equip students for a career in industry.

He went on to become Dean of Technology and then Vice-Principal. He remained active in research into iron and steel-making and took on a full teaching load.

Professor Bodsworth served on influential committees of the Iron and Steel Institute and the Metals Society and was external examiner at University College Cardiff, and to numerous PhD candidates elsewhere.

He also authored well-respected books such as The Physical Chemistry of Iron and Steel Manufacture and The Extraction and Refining of Metals.

“Colin was a loyal mentor and friend.

He is renowned internationally for his contributions to metallurgy but his preferred memorial would be the fine careers of graduates whose education he planned and directed. A man of integrity, he was regarded with affection by staff and students and displayed considerable courtesy for both. He led by example, setting high standards as a scientist and teacher. His criticism could be devastating but was always kindly offered and wonderfully helpful, tempered by sound, Yorkshire common sense. Colin was modest and radiated quiet competence in everything he did, and we deeply regret our loss.”

David Talbot CEng MIMMM and Brian Ralph CEng CSci FIMMM

After Brunel, Jock emigrated to Australia, where he renewed his interest in the Red Cross before joining the World Bank.

Following the 2004 tsunami, Jock was posted to Banda Aceh, to ensure that worldwide donations were appropriately channelled.

Jock was living and working in Jakarta, Indonesia at the time of his death. A memorial was held at Brunel in August, attended by family, friends, fellow students and staff.

Brunel has set up a University prize in honour of Jock’s memory. The Jock McKeon Prize for Inspirational Leadership will be open to all students and fundraising has begun. If you would like details on how to make a donation please contact: lisa. alderton@brunel.ac.uk Lisa Alderton “I met Jock within a few days of starting at Brunel in 1990. He was taking part in a water fight at the time, such lighthearted behaviour being very much part of his character. What Jock just couldn’t accept was apathy. He would cajole and push people to get things changed. This may have been within the work-place or just getting people to accompany him to the gym! I believe the way to honour his memory is to have a lot of fun, to always look out for those who need help, and to follow your dreams. Dismiss apathy and make it happen!”

John Gray

Brunel Link 2011 | 31

Brunel Alumnus of the Year 2011 N

athaniel is a man of many talents and achievements, his most compelling trait being his dedication to helping young people rise above crime and make a positive difference in their own lives as well as in the lives of others in their community. In 2006 he founded the company the Safety Box and has since grown the company from strength to strength with ambitions to reach schools worldwide. In 2007 he was the first double award winner of the Enterprising Young Brits competition.

We are delighted to announce that Nathaniel Peat (Mechanical Engineering, 2001) has been named the 2011 Brunel Alumnus of the Year.

2008 saw him feature on the BBC’s The Last Millionaire TV series, which took 12 of Britain’s most successful young entrepreneurs and dropped them into six of the world’s most exciting and demanding cities, to make money from scratch in just five days.

Nathaniel was very successful and created a business in Egypt starting with only 30 Egyptian pounds that by the end of the week had made a profit of nearly 3,000 Egyptian pounds making him and his business partner the winners for that week.

In 2009 Nathaniel travelled to Jamaica along with 30 young people from the UK where he spoke at Jamaica’s first Youth Diaspora conference. During his visit, he met the Prime Minister of Jamaica Bruce Golding, the Governor General and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, amongst other senior politicians and influential business people. As a result of his visit strong links were developed, and now the Government is interested in taking his business into Jamaica for 2012.

In 2010 Nathaniel represented Great Britain as a youth delegate for the G20 Toronto Young Entrepreneur’s Summit and was also featured in the under 40’s section of the 2011 JP Morgan Black Power List of Britain’s most influential black people.

As a qualified pilot, entrepreneur and academic his life continues to inspire many wishing to further themselves through higher education.

About the Award Each year we invite nominations from staff, graduates, students and members of the Brunel community to nominate a Brunel alumnus who has excelled.

The nominee must have studied at Brunel University or one of its associated colleges, and must have demonstrated one or a combination of the following achievements: • An ongoing commitment to the University • Suitability as a role model for students and fellow alumni • Success in their professional career • Signifi cant community involvement or heroism.

Nominations and citations should be sent to: Head of Alumni Relations, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, to reach us by 30 September 2011.

Procedure

Last year’s winner, Peter Ward (pictured with the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Chris Jenks) received his Alumnus of the Year award during Graduation 2010.

Calls for nominations are made through Brunel Link magazine, the Brunel Alumni website, IntraBrunel (the University intranet news pages) and through current Brunel student networks. All nominations must be made by 30 September. The Award panel will make their decision by the end of October and the Alumnus of the Year will be presented with their Award at the degree ceremonies the following July.

And finally…

135613 180511

After 22 years working at Brunel, 18 of them in Alumni Relations, it is time for me to retire before I pass my sell-by date!

Throughout this time, I have had the privilege of meeting so many of you – during your student days, at your graduation, and at alumni reunions and events.

I never cease to be impressed by your personal achievements and by just how much you enhance the communities within which you work. May I wish all Brunelians continued success and happiness, and thank you all for making this the very best job in the University.

Sue Curley, Head of Alumni Relations

32 | Brunel Link 2011